I added a line with CALL DIAGLV (0) and the MESSAGES file was not produced !

you are right!......it seems that I put the DIAGLV call in a wrong place.....now I get the same results as you: no MESSAGES.TXT!

and very nice program Dan!.....I like your code for checking the properties of lines and fonts in a plot......I have changed your %ac for a simple %bt that just "exits" the window.....and about using antialiased Hershey fonts...well, I think the problem is not if they exist or not, but how to implement them in CHSET.....this subroutine uses the Hershey.dat file, I guess this file should be changed for that....but this is a question for.....guess who?.....David Butland!......

Agustin,
Just noticed that this code has some bug i couldn't immediately fix - it crashes when resized with the error message "Invalid data value supplied to %pl". Usually %pl resizes with no problem which means i made a mistake somewhere

Just the information on what's to add to %pl in future: found the article in one journal which has all figures resembling Simpleplot style.

Dan, I do not know to what extend do you want %pl be improved.
I have not a great expertise in programming, but to me it appears that trying to make %pl a very powerful tool (with the same or similiar possibilities as Simpleplot) for making graphs would turn it into something difficult to code and at some stage difficult to understand (or follow).....I guess that using a list of calls to subroutines, each one producing some particular part of a graph, is still better, but perhaps I am wrong....probably Paul could enlighten us in this respect....

I would also say that at this stage, the use of Simpleplot under FTN95 is not straightforward as we have seen along all our discussions under this and some other topics....therefore, what I would expect, if Silverfrost considers that the inclusion of Simpleplot in the distribution is really a valuable tool, is that they:

a) include the installation of Simpleplot really as part of FTN95, i.e. the installation of Simple.ini and Hershey fonts along with the compiler.
b) include a help file for Simpleplot, as we already have for Clearwin, so that people could use it easily by accesing to the description and use of each subroutine.
c) improving Simpleplot with the help of David by updating what needs to be updated (real*8 variables?) and solving the problems with fonts (and symbols....the list of symbols in Simpleplot is not at the level of publications nowadays).
d) including the information and examples about how to use Simpleplot with Clearwin.

The main problem I see is that Silverfrost seems to be saying: "if you like, here is something called Simpleplot, but we have nothing to do with it and we will say nothing about it...", and consequently the lack of promotion to the users of FTN95 makes Simpleplot to rest in peace in the web site....until somebody starts to search for a Fortran library fro plotting graphs......and then you can go an buy something like GINOGRAF or use the free Simpleplot.....

I want very simple thing which by the way sells from the point of view of promoting this compiler too:
1) Matlab graphics simplicity - essentially plotting in one single line of fortran text, which is already possible
2) Nature/Science/Physical Review journal quality. Matlab is capable of that, Simpleplot just needs some cosmetic work.

By the way, most of the absent features (like those on figures from journal above) can be added to %pl in a week of work without hurting its simplicity

For me any serious use of full Simpleplot will be an option if Silverfrost or all users control its source and development or have the rights to change it. Like with some other graphics packages -- Dislin or Simdem. Meantime developers at least need to fix the bugs and obvious deficiencies. Right now Simpleplot is still a dead end product (i do not know status of communications of developers)

First, I'm still having trouble running your program with the orange colour specified via the RGB code.
I get a fatal error from SimplePlot - Colour ****** not recognized.
Don't know if I have to reset something on my machine to get those codes working or not.

Not sure what you mean when you say 'itallic layout hides pixellation of straight fonts'.
I find CHSET (9) or (11) better personally
By the way in my last post the order of the -ve ID fonėts is wrong, should be
normal/italic/bold/bold-italic

As for h-ershey, they are anvient of origin is my understanding and I had a search around when we first discussed all this and didn't find any others in existence. In any case I think the fonts are 'hard built' into the code so even digging any others up wouldn't be helpful I don't think.

I tried your code out (nice spin wheels for quick selection, only problem is they 'activate' as soon as a click is made and not with the Plot button !. Tedious to click through and cancel the plot at each step. Also happens if you type into the eb too).
My plots on my Acer Laptop (1380x800)- ish resolution, the curves come out thicker than yours. The non-italic Helvetica looks much better and I can get better with a higher font size too,although the Title Line then encroaches into the plot area.
That an be 'fixed' by careful definition of margins around the plot via the addition of:-
! L R B T
CALL PICMRG(4.5,0.5,4.0,2.0) ! set PICture MaRGins!
!
put it just before the CALL DIAGVL statement for example.
WARNING - play around with the values at your peril as the margins affect axis labels positions(and v.versa -their font size plays a part).
The settings above worked for me, but with a larger font size one or both labels 'jump' inside the plot area.
This is all to do with the too clever for it's own good SimplePlot 'intelligent' auto-sizing &layout routines.
I've been playing around for a while trying to 'Master' these parameters and failing miserably to 'master' them.

You'll have noticed I haven't mastered the posting of images (how do you do that exactly so it appears?.

I tried the re-size Dan, my window re-sizes but is blank. Then I close it and get back to the data input dialog and Text Size is EMPTY !
Don't know if that helps you track the problemo.

As for SimplePlot:
Agustin - the SimplePlot Documentation already there is as good as it gets.
Problem is it's so complete for starting off it's a bit heavy, but that's necesary I think because of it's potential.
I think we'll be looking for the end of the string for a long time yet as regards SFrost doing any updates.

I think it sounds easy Dan, but the complexity of the code, even if it was available, would make it a daunting task.
Those plots do look like SimplePlot ones. All those features you see are indeed available within simpleplot from what I've seen in the manuals.
The mixing of fonts in titles and axis subtitless I've been looking at with, err , mixed success. Multi-line titles are possible, but completely impossible in %pl I think.
... and where are Legends in &pl ... completely missing !!!
I think the best we could hope for is putting right some of the obvious differences but extending further the options to any great extent is far more complicated than we realise I think.

Like you both say, Paul's view would be good to here , previously Paul you gave the impression of it being a complete no, does that still hold ?

You are right, the font -11 is as good as -12 in pixelation, i missed it taking some wrong sizes. Both though have the same defect: too small font for exponent

For color #RRGGBB you need latest DLL/LIB files from version 7.1

I edited the code, the button is used just to re-plot in case you need that. Spin wheel closes windows automatically. Or esc key

Differences in scaling between my and your images are probably due to screen pixel counts dimensions of our computers. I suspect all scales will change on future 4K monitors.

As to posting images, i use Postimage dot org, ask it do not rescale and take "Direct Link" it offers. I insert it in the text same way as you do adding two img tags (same will do the forum's own button "Img" above using Javascript, so make sure it is not switched off)

Of course it will take a lot of thinking and time to make Simpleplot perfect, to add many new options, select the best ones as a default etc but to change the obvious faults with the centering tics, add standard Windows fonts, 4-axis surface area, better scalability when the size goes to thumbnail dimensions, ability to run multiple %pl windows in the same screen, fix few tic mark/labeling defects, rebuild al to 24bit color paletttes for 3D plots in demo instead of 4 bit, all probably will not take too much time, most is already done, it just sometimes looks ugly, the Simpleplot was done 20 years ago and was not updated. To make me 99% satisfied not actually very much more is needed. D.Butland perfectly knows what is wrong with the look, feel and design of Simpleplot, even his school age kids made Android graphics software Bridplot which looks absolutely amazing, have you seen that?

The way you guys discovered when full Simpleplot helps %pl to expand its functionality should be primary design concept of future Simpleplot.

Thanks for more useful tips! I added margin change to the code so anyone can adjust the margin now or just play with it (and see it like everything in Simpleplot also has room for improvement and exposes some Simpleplot defects - in my case for example adding it messes with the font for exponent decreasing it even further, axis titles jump out etc. What units are used for margin adjustment? It is definitely not the % of plotting area which is needed for proper scaling of graph if resizing). I hope you guys will find new Simpleplot bug which messes with the exponent font but opposite way and return larger exponent font back

And i found the crashing code bug when resizing - Simpleplot conflicts with %lw. Commenting this line makes it re-sizable fine but loses ability to auto-close the window

Simpleplot = huge_bugotron made in the era of unfamous FTN90, the champion of bugotrons. Needs some maintenance work ASAP

Last edited by DanRRight on Sun Sep 21, 2014 4:23 am; edited 7 times in total

Nice updates Dan.
By the way I have no right to be credited with solving anything. My original suggestions were based on what I'd seen in an older post of Agustin's, he's the one who has enlightened us on many things wrt SimplePlot. Thanks a lot Agustin.
I'm learning as I go along too.
Keep up the good work and thanks for your posts on all aspects Dan, I'm learning a lot (I think)

well, I was thinking about the code of Dan and see that with the %pl way he has some problems with the margins and captions and also with resizing the window.....well, what I like a lot of Simpleplot is the way it works with Clearwin (I have not found how DSLIN can work with Clearwin and I guess that the good interfacing between Simpleplot and Clearwin was probably the result of a close work between BUSS and Salford in the 90'...). So, as I prefer always a Simpleplot+Clearwin solution instead of a %pl window, I modified the Dan's code to obtain a similar result but in an easier way:

see next message with the code.....just another exercise...

Agustin

Last edited by aebolzan on Mon Sep 22, 2014 7:51 pm; edited 1 time in total

That's a nice solution, but there is one difference with mine: when you put L Margin = 1.5, I still have a correct graph and you obtain a graph where the Y-axis legend is moved to the right side of the axis (or is the axis that is moved to the left beyond the legend?......). I do not know why, but could it be another problem of %pl implementation?....but for the rest....the Simpleplot_redraw@ works fine and I like it.....

Well, a hack is just a hack. Pity, and i'd say shameful, that SP development was abandoned and it was left to die slowly for last 20 years. This specific property of margin change wasn't the part of design concept for %pl -- that is what you guys uncovered by hacking, and that is what i would like to see in the future Simpleplot. It must be the mighty, well adjusted publication quality package, still super-simple and super-convenient as it was imagined from the start and it actually is. It must be completely controllable in all its tiny properties from the full Simpleplot if needed.

Simpleplot %pl achieved literally godlike simplicity. That is exactly what we all need all our life - we make thousands of simple estimations and that must be easy and handy. So far it is the only graphics package in the world which can plot in ONE SINGLE FORTRAN LINE including all the declarations, data preparation and even Fortran END statement! Take this snipped into your computer and try - it's fun. Compilation is super-simple too - FTN95 aaa.f95 /lgo.

and it even can be beautified a bit with few hacks (though it supposed to be perfectly looking without it. For others who see that for first time - compile it usual way because you will need to add here at compile time SIMPLE.DLL. And of course to activate Hershey fonts as it was explained at the beginning of this thread):

The plotting itself is actually done in just few symbols, isn't this simply amazing ?

Code:

i=winio@('%pl[x_array]',400,300,N,x,y)

By the way, here is the question to our hacks, is there possibility to save Simpleplot %pl screen in graphics format like we do with %gr? I'm having difficulties to save plots using PrtScr button grabbing the whole PC screen into clipboard, it is getting on my nerves and permanently hiccups on my computer, i push the button up to 20 times and still having old image in the clipboard when there are a lot of windows open,y

Last edited by DanRRight on Thu Sep 25, 2014 9:19 am; edited 5 times in total

I am very sorry to tell you that with %pl I do not see any way to send the graph to a printer. (I tried several ideas without success) ...as it is not possible to asign a handle to the window, I do not see how could one get the graphic region and copy it to a printer....with the other (my) way, you can select a printer or even to output to a windows metafile....but it is the other way....i.e. no %pl.....however, I think that we could start another topic about the possibility of improving %pl and see what Paul has to say....maybe it is not in his plans, but I guess that he could explain us how difficult could be to modify %pl in order to get some of the things you are asking......maybe the addition of a handle to %pl is not hard to do......